Chain of Memories: The Nintendo Version
by KingdomKey23
Summary: The adventures in the world of Nintendo continues, as Sora and his friends traverse through the mysterious castle known as Castle Oblivion; a place where in order to find something important, they must give up something of equal value first. What is that Sora must relinquish, and will doing so reunite him with his best friend Riku?


A/N: A few years ago I wrote part of this story out. But circumstances prevented me from completing it. However, I was not about to give up on this story, so I worked hard to find the motivation to finish it. While I'm not finished writing this story yet, I decided to release the prologue chapter to hold you guys over until it's finished. To people who have read the unfinished version of COM:TNV: I decided to rewrite the story from scratch; certain elements of the story were changed, while other elements remained untouched (Sora and Riku's stories are still combined, as requested by you guys). Either way, I'm hoping this will be a fresh, new start to this story. As always: enjoy.

_Disclaimer: The franchises utilized in this story do not belong to me. They are properties of Square-Enix, Disney, Nintendo, and Sega._

* * *

**Prologue: Oblivious Beginnings **

The path was narrow, long, and seemingly endless. Sora started to trudge along on the dirt path; he had been running for so long that his legs were turning into mush. The dominating heat from the sun definitely didn't help this journey go by any faster. Sora wasn't even sure what time it was, but he knew asking wouldn't expedite their travels. He turned to his friends, the only companions he had in all of this mess: Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth. They too were losing the battle against exhaustion.

They were previously in pursuit of Bowser Jr., son of King Bowser Koopa, an enemy of the Mushroom King, who was always kidnapping Princess Peach. Bowser Jr. held an important envelope that was assumed to be from Mario, Luigi's older brother. The four chased after the little turtle-like creature, but somehow they ended up losing him. Hopefully they would find him at the end of the path – granted, if the path ended.

Sora still had a hard time believing that this was his reality. What started as an innocent little voyage to see other worlds turned into an epic journey to save the universe. Sora had visited many strange places, met many new friends and enemies, and fought with a strange weapon called the keyblade. At the end of his journey, Sora had to prevent a former monarch from gaining ultimate power. Unfortunately, while Sora did save all worlds from everlasting darkness, he was separated again from his childhood friends: Riku and Kairi.

Riku helped Sora close Kingdom Hearts, the door that led to darkness. It was infested with creatures called the heartless; and Riku remained on the other side of the door. Mario also stayed on the other side to make sure the door remained sealed. After the door closed, it vanished into thin air. Sora didn't know what became of the door. Being the bright eyed optimist he was, Sora hoped that Riku was somewhere safe, and one day they would see each other again.

After the door vanished, Sora got a chance to see Kairi one last time, before some unseen force separated them. Kairi returned safely to her home on Destiny Island. Knowing that Kairi was safe and sound was the only comforting thought Sora had. Now he had to find Riku, and then find a way home. Sora wasn't sure how he'd get back, but he made a promise to Kairi that he would, no matter how long it took him; and Sora never broke his promises.

Sighing, he continued walking along the path with his friends, trying to shake the negative thought of not fulfilling that promise out of his head. Sora looked to see that his friends were getting tired. Yoshi, the strange dinosaur like creature, was hanging his long tongue out. Yoshi had skin as green as the grass; along the back of his head were bumpy red spines; and the only garments he wore were red shoes, and a red saddle resting on his back.

Luigi removed his green cap and swung it across his face like a fan. He wore blue overalls, a green shirt, and wore brown shoes. Sora noticed a drop of sweat dripping off of Luigi's black moustache.

Toadsworth was the eldest member of the group. He was a mushroom creature that wore a sleeveless, purple vest with golden buttons and a red bow tie, which made him look elegant. After all, he was the royal steward of Princess Peach. He wore small, black glasses, and he had a huge white moustache. On his head was a huge mushroom cap, which had giant, round spots embedded all around it. He was riding on Yoshi's back, obviously not as tired as the others, but still facing the wrath of the intense heat.

Sora himself was a fourteen year old boy that wore a red jumpsuit, a black overjacket, white gloves and unusually large, yellow shoes. He had brown spiky hair, and around his neck he wore a silver crown necklace. Sora had been traveling from world to world with his new friends, and he was glad that, despite being in a completely foreign area, they were still with him. He wouldn't know what to do.

The heat was beginning to take its toll on everyone. Luigi felt dizzy from dehydration, and at moments he tripped over his feet.

"Can we take a break?" Luigi asked; he was gasping. "I feel like I'm going to melt faster than the Wicked Witch."

"Luigi right," Yoshi said. "And Yoshi hungry, too."

Luigi looked at the dinosaur in surprise. "Hungry? Hungry? You just ate an hour ago! Mama-mia! Your favorite foot is 'see' food."

"Ooh." Yoshi licked his lips. "Yoshi love seafood. Especially lobster."

"No, no," Luigi said. "See food as in when you see it, you eat it."

Sora groaned. "Luigi, this heatstroke is bad enough. Cracking a bad pun isn't helping our situation."

"It's keeping me sane at least!" Luigi said angrily. "If I don't take a break soon, I'm going to lose it!"

"But we can't stop now," Sora said. There was a spark of confidence in his eyes. "That letter Bowser Jr. has might lead us to Riku and your brother."

"I must concur with Master Luigi," Toadsworth said. "We need a rest. At this rate we'll collapse faster than a tower supported by nothing but silly putty."

Everyone glared at Toadsworth for his strange analogy.

"Are you starting to see why we need a rest, Master Sora?"

"Because Toadsworth starting to become obsessed with silly putty?" Yoshi asked.

Luigi smacked his forehead from Yoshi's question. Toadsworth was right; they have been walking in the hot sun for awhile. Perhaps a break wouldn't hurt. And who knows; Bowser Jr. could be just as tired as they were, and was probably taking his own break.

"Alright," Sora said. "We can take it easy for now."

* * *

The weary travelers found a nearby tree and sat under it, letting the shade protect them from the angry heat of the sun. Sora leaned his back against the trunk and looked towards the horizon, smiling. He was glad they were taking a break; the past few hours have been hectic: traveling to the End of World, fighting Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, losing your best friends, and hunting down a little turtle creature would make anyone pine for a rest. For the first time in awhile, everything felt tranquil.

But that didn't mean it was carefree.

Sora thought about Riku and Kairi every second. He missed them so much. The keyblade master thought his journey would have a happy ending, but instead it left a bittersweet taste in his mouth. He tapped his fingers on his knees, trying to map out their next course of action. It wasn't looking too good so far; after all, when he sealed the door to the darkness, every world became disconnected and isolated, meaning even if he had a vessel, there was no way for him to get passed the invisible barrier.

Sora was starting to feel a sense of hopelessness, but he continued struggling to push it away. If there's one thing Sora learned on his journey, it was that anything's possible. There was always a chance.

"Master Luigi, how's our food rations?"

Luigi went through his pockets. "Not too good. They're depleting quickly."

Luigi glared suspiciously at Yoshi.

"Why everyone look at Yoshi when that happens?"

"Do I even need to answer that?" Luigi asked.

"Masters, we must not get riled up," Toadsworth said. "We need to remain focused."

"I'm not riled up," Luigi said. "Riled up is me dropkicking this tree."

Luigi paused before saying, "Allow me to demonstrate."

Sora grabbed Luigi's arm before the plumber could stand up and perform such an impossible, painful feat.

Yoshi gulped. "And Yoshi thought Cid was scary."

"Calm down, Luigi," Sora said. "There has to be SOMETHING at the end of this path."

"Indeed," Toadsworth said. "Maybe this path will lead us to a town."

"Or to our graves," Luigi said flatly.

"G-g-graves?" Yoshi whimpered nervously.

"Cut it out!" Sora snapped. "Why do you always have to be so negative?"

"Hey, there's a difference between being negative and thinking realistically," Luigi said.

"And that difference isn't going to help us out of here," Sora said.

"We no give up. We still have to find Riku and Mario."

"I know, but how are we supposed to find them?" Luigi asked. "What, is the door to light just going to magically appear out of thin air?"

Sora stood up. "Listen, I know things look bad right now, but sitting here and complaining isn't going to help us find them. We gotta keep going. They might be closer than we think."

"Yeah," Yoshi said. "Yoshi believe Sora. Yoshi have feeling in gut that they close, too."

Luigi skeptically raised an eyebrow at Yoshi. "Uh-huh. That feeling in your gut is probably from that jawbreaker you swallowed whole the other day."

"Jawbreaker?" Yoshi asked in confusion. "Me thought it was gum."

"You don't SWALLOW gum, either!" Luigi said.

Sora sighed in annoyance. "Guys!"

"Alright, alright," Luigi said. "You're right. Sitting here won't solve anything. I miss my big bro just as much as you miss Riku. We won't stop searching….even if it's like trying to find a small meatball in a spaghetti dish. "

Sora rolled his eyes at Luigi's terrible pasta pun. He was glad to see that, despite being hopelessly lost, their spirits did not melt into a puddle of despondency. They clutched tightly onto the prospect of seeing their loved ones again. Sora especially. He couldn't wait to spar with Riku again and confess his true feelings to Kairi.

A feeling of reassurance and resolve came over them. They continued down the long pathway, unaware that its end would only lead to the beginning of their next journey.

* * *

Nighttime came fast. The sun hid itself behind the horizon, letting the moon come out to display its beautiful illumination. Because of the sun's absence, it was not nearly as hot. The group set up camp near a crossroad, which was a bit disheartening to see: Bowser Jr. could've gone down any one of the paths; there was a good possibility that their only lead would get away.

Sora wasn't sure what to do now. He sat with his friends around a small fire that Luigi managed to ignite with his magic. While Sora sat in contemplation, the others were reminiscing on old times they shared back on their home world: The Mushroom Kingdom. Sora would partially listen in on their conversations, chiming in once in awhile with a stock response such as, "yeah" or "cool."

Sora wished that he could reminisce with Riku and Kairi about old times. No proper description could illustrate how much he missed them. He was trying to stay positive, but homesickness was a virus susceptible to even the most optimistic of people. Sora's bright smile dimmed into sadness.

Yoshi noticed Sora's somber expression. Yoshi couldn't bear to see Sora in such an unhappy mood. Frankly, Yoshi didn't like it when anyone was sad; it was a part of his nature. Yoshi had been an emotional support for Sora ever since they first met, helping him cope with being apart from his family and friends.

Yoshi slid over to Sora and put his green arm around him.

"Say, Sora," Yoshi said. "Remember time in Dreamland when we flew around on stars?"

Sora's eyes lit up. "Of course. How could I forget? Watching Luigi figure out how to ride it had me in stitches."

"Ha, ha," Luigi said sarcastically. "It's funny because I was struggling to learn something new."

Sora and his friends were soon recounting their various adventures together: from the tropical Delfino Island, to the mythical land of Hyrule, there were so many stories and memories to be told. The laughter and merriment filled the empty space of the night sky. Sora felt a bit better; if there was one thing he'll always have, it's the memories of his amazing adventure, and hopes to share those memories with Riku and Kairi soon.

* * *

After an evening of laughs, the group settled down and went to sleep. Sora lay in the tall, bushy grass. He looked up at the stars twinkling in the sky. He closed his eyes to try and sleep, but the homesickness was bothering him like a mosquito bite. The continuing thoughts of his island played in his mind's eye. Every image was vivid: he smelled the clean, fresh air; heard the gentle sound of the ocean waves flow through his ears; and felt the soft, warm sand tickle his feet. It was paradise.

Next he imagined Riku and Kairi sitting on the beach with him. Riku would be looking out at the horizon, trying to act all cool and mysterious. Kairi would be picking up any sea shells she found lying around and making them into something. He missed those simpler times; now they were nothing than thoughts used for escapism.

Sora sat up; he was unable to sleep. His ears were greeted by the wonderfully annoying sound of snoring. Turning to his left, he saw Luigi and Yoshi asleep. The plumber's head was resting comfortably on Yoshi's stomach.

Luigi was mumbling pleasurably about something. "Hm, spaghetti. Ah, ravioli." He then sighed dreamily, "Ah, mama-mia."

Looking ahead of him, he saw that Toadsworth was still awake. The fire was still burning as well.

Sora crawled over to the fireplace, making his way through the tall grass, which rustled loudly. The noise startled Toadsworth for the moment, but he sighed in relief when he saw Sora.

"Goodness, Master Sora," Toadsworth said. "A little warning would suffice before you do that, eh, wot?"

Sora rubbed his head. "Sorry about that."

He sat next to Toadsworth.

"You shouldn't stay up so late, Master Sora," Toadsworth said. "You need energy for when we resume our expedition tomorrow."

Sora grinned. "Looks who's talking. I'm sure an old guy like you needs plenty of sleep."

"Oh, don't mind me," Toadsworth said. "I'm like an owl. Besides, all of this reminiscing got me in the mood to take a look at my journal entries. Care to have a gander with me?"

Sora sat closer to Toadsworth and the two of them skimmed through the journal. Sora was amazed at the amount of detail and passion Toadsworth put into the entries.

"Man, you did an awesome job with the journal," Sora said. "So many pages."

There was pride in Toadsworth's eyes. "I tried to write as much as I could. This is one journey no one should ever forget. After all, the brain can't recall every detail, and as the royal chronicler, it is my duty to make sure Princess Peach knows all about our journey."

Toadsworth went through his pocket and pulled out his pen. He started shaking it.

"The only vexing thing is that my pen is starting to run out of ink," Toadsworth said. "I hope we find a store soon."

"I'm sure we will," Sora said with a depressing tone in his voice.

"Something troubling you?"

"It's just…I wasn't expecting all this to happen. Riku, Kairi, and I built raft, and were going to use it to see other worlds. But then…the heartless came, Kairi got kidnapped, and Riku, well – it wasn't how I pictured this adventure."

"You make it sound like a bad thing, Master Sora,"

"Oh, not at all! Going to other worlds with you guys has been incredible, but…"

"You wish they were here, don't you?"

Sora nodded sadly.

"I can understand that," Toadsworth said. "Reality doesn't always fulfill our desires. We just have to learn to accept that. But that doesn't mean we can't work towards another goal. Sometimes I see the doubt in your eyes, Master Sora. You must not be discouraged. You found them once, correct? I'm sure you'll find them again. Didn't you make a promise to Kairi? I remember hearing it when you two were separated. So just think about how rewarding it will be to fulfill that promise. I apologize if this sounds cheesy, but that's something worth fighting for."

Sora felt a little better from Toadsworth's words. He went through his pocket and pulled out the star pendant Kairi gave him. She made it out of Thalassa Shells, which were only found on Sora's island, and made it into a star. She gave it to Sora for good luck, but told him to bring it back to her.

However, as Toadsworth said, there was one more promise Sora made to her. Whenever he remembered that promise, he felt disheartened. The moment he made that promise, the ground beneath them split apart. He played the image again in his mind upon hearing it from Toadsworth.

"_I'll come back to you. I promise."_

"_I know you will!" __Kairi responded. _

Sora also remembered the promise he made to Riku.

"_Take care of her." _Riku's voice whispered.

He could never forgive himself if he broke his promise. Sora clenched his fist, feeling his confidence starting to return.

"Yeah," Sora said. "Some things are worth fighting for."

"That's the spirit," Toadsworth said. "I'm sure Riku will be ecstatic to see you again." He cleared his throat. "And I'm sure Kairi is looking forward to spending a LOT of time with you."

Sora blushed. "Wh-what's that supposed to mean?"

"I know you have a thing for her." Toadsworth chortled. "Every time she's mentioned, your face becomes redder than a pepper. I'm sure your aching to tell her how you feel."

A sly grin appeared on Toadsworth's face. "In fact, I could give you some pointers, Master Sora. Back then I was quite the charmer towards the ladies. Well, I would've been if I didn't start rambling about the princess' safety ten minutes into the conversation."

Sora tried his hardest not to crack a smile.

"Don't laugh. I was close to first base."

Sora grinned nervously. "No, no. It's nothing like that. I was thinking about something else."

Toadsworth crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Please, elaborate on what you were thinking."

"Well, you see, I was thinking about…"

Instantly, Sora fell to the ground and pretended to fall asleep. Toadsworth couldn't help but chuckle at Sora's lame excuse to climb out of the hole he dug.

"I'm tired anyway. Best get some sleep for tomorrow. Good night, Master Sora."

Toadsworth got onto the ground and went to sleep as well. Sora didn't sleep for very long. He was still restless. For some reason, his body felt stiff. Obviously from sleeping on the hard surface. He slowly got to his feet and stretched. Perhaps a quick stroll will loosen me up – and get my mind off of things, he thought.

Sora walked through the tall grass until he arrived at the crossroad. He put his hands into his pockets and looked at the night sky. He exhaled deeply. What were they going to do? Which way was the right way? Sora scrutinized each path to see if Bowser Jr. left some form of a trail behind. Nothing. Each path was identical.

Sora exhaled again. No point in worrying about which direction to take now. He'd worry about it tomorrow. He was ready to head back and get such much needed sleep. But a sudden feeling came over him. A chilling feeling. The one that makes you believe there is someone behind you, breathing down your neck. Sora looked behind to see that nobody was there.

"Pull yourself together," he mumbled. "Things have been tough. The stress is getting to you."

"So, a wanderer that searches for something he has lost," said a deep, male voice.

Sora gasped and turned behind him. No one there. Sora thought he was losing his mind. Anyone would lose their mind out here, all alone. Nervous sweat started to drip down his forehead. He summoned the mythical keyblade to his right hand, a weapon of great power that chose him to defend every world from the ongoing threat of the heartless.

He had to remain strong. Showing any sign of nervousness was like giving up a fight right before it began. That wasn't Sora's style.

"Who's there?" Sora asked.

"But if he continues his pointless pursuit, he will lose his mind as well," the voice continued.

Sora spun around and was shocked by what he saw. It was a person dressed in a long, black cloak. The person's face was hidden inside his hood. The man stood there, motionless. Although he couldn't see the man's face, Sora was picturing cold, dead eyes staring right into his soul. Normally Sora wouldn't be nervous; he has faced many challenging opponents without fear. But this person was different. He had seen this man before, and remembers how deadly he was compared to any other person he fought. This man made Sora's fight against Ansem look easy.

"You!" Sora shouted. "You're that guy from Hallow Bastion! What are you doing here?"

The man was puzzled by Sora's statement. "I assure you that this is the first time we've met."

"Yeah, right," Sora said. "Like I'd believe that after your little light show almost killed us last time."

The man rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. Because of the hood, Sora had no idea what this man was thinking. And frankly, he didn't want to know. Sora thought about his options. Considering how powerful this person was, he needed his friends. He was going to open his mouth and call for them, but the man let out a chuckle before Sora's mouth opened.

"I see," the man said. "The person you met before wears the same garments as me. In fact, there are many people like myself that don the black cloak. You could say that we're family."

Sora's heart rate rose. So there was more than one of this guy? They had enough trouble with one of them. But who knows; the strange man from Hallow Bastion only wanted to test Sora's power. Maybe he wasn't bad. Either way, people wearing black cloaks didn't exactly make someone look like a boy scout. Sora had to stay alert.

"I understand that you wander the realm of light for something that is very important to you."

Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing. This person seemed to know what he was thinking. It was like he took a big telescope and jabbed it into Sora's head, seeing his hopes and desires. The uneasiness in Sora's stomach tightened. He wondered if this person had been stalking him.

"H-how do you know that?"

The man pointed down the path next to him. "Ahead on this path lies that very something you hold dear."

The first thing that entered his mind was Riku. It was wishful thinking, but he'd take any lead to find his best friend.

"R-really?"

"Yes," the man said. "But in order to claim it, you must lose something first."

Sora winced. He knew there had to be a catch. Life does not just hand you the car keys and let you drive off; consequences were inventible. And the consequences of following this path troubled Sora. What would he lose? Instinctively, Sora clutched his hand onto his pocket, tightly gripping Kairi's star pendant. He also gripped the hilt of the keyblade tighter. A thought about his friends then crossed his mind: would they be in danger? So many questions he wanted this man to answer, but, just like the hooded person from Hallow Bastion, they would probably be cryptic and unclear.

Sora wanted to say something, but the person hovered slightly off the ground, turned away from Sora, and vanished.

"Wait!"

Sora was not sure what to do. Does he take this big risk? Was he willing to endanger his friends just to save Riku? He thought about taking the other two paths, but somehow, they disappeared during this whole ordeal.

It looks like there was no other choice.

* * *

"Wake up!" Sora shouted to his friends.

The others slowly sat up and started shaking the drowsy feeling out of their system.

"What going on?" Yoshi mumbled. "It Christmas already?"

"Is everything alright, Master Sora?"

"Guys, I think I've stumbled on to something!"

"That impossible," Yoshi said. "Luigi the one who do stumbling around here."

Luigi, who was still half asleep, said, "Yoshi, if I wasn't so sleepy…..I'd be wide awake."

Sora ran over to Luigi and shook him until he was fully awake.

"This is serious!"

"Okay, okay!" Luigi cried. "S-st-stop s-s-sh-shaking me!"

Sora released his grip as Luigi rubbed his forehead.

"Mama-mia! What is all the fuss about?"

"Guys, I think we're close to finding Riku and Mario," Sora said excitedly. He pointed to the path. "We just have to follow that path."

"R-really?" Yoshi asked. There was skepticism in his voice.

"And how do you know?" Luigi asked.

"This guy told me," Sora said. "It was weird. He somehow knows that I'm searching for something."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Luigi said. "You're actually falling for this? Some random stranger just HAPPENS to know where they are? Did he mention who the 'something' was?"

"Well, no."

"Then it's obviously a trap," Luigi said

"I'm not dumb, Luigi," Sora said with a hint of anger in his voice. "I realize that. But there's no other lead we have."

"Yes we do," Luigi said. "Bowser Jr. Once we find him, we'll get that letter and–"

Sora interrupted. "No we won't. Bowser Jr. is long gone! And, for some crazy reason, the other two paths are gone."

"Gone!" Luigi blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

Luigi turned around; a fearful expression appeared on his face when he saw the lonely path. The others noticed it at well, sharing the same sentiments Luigi had.

"Oh…dear…" Toadsworth said.

Yoshi made a big gulp noise and started to shiver.

Luigi chuckled nervously. "Well, that narrows our choices down. Too bad I won't be sticking around to see what's at the end of pathway number one."

Luigi started to run the other way.

"Wait, Master Luigi," Toadsworth said. "Don't leave. You don't know what's back there."

"Yes I do. Somewhere safer."

"But you'll be all alone," Sora pointed out. "In the dark."

Luigi winced. "I hate it when you're right. And I'm guessing none of you will go with me."

"Yoshi scared, but he take any lead to find Mario. And Yoshi's friends here, so he never truly afraid."

"I'm willing to take that chance," Toadsworth said. "It's better than meandering out here."

"C'mon, Luigi," Sora said. "Wouldn't Mario do the same for you? You guys are brothers, right?"

Luigi sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

"He would," Luigi said. "He'd do the craziest things to keep me safe. Heck, I endured my worst fears in a haunted mansion just to save him. I guess we do the craziest things for the ones we love. Alright, I'll go with you guys. But we have to stay alert."

Everyone else nodded, and the four headed down the path, wondering what sort of hazards awaited them.

* * *

The group continued following the path until they arrived at a white bridge. Very sturdy. Made entirely out of bricks. The bridge was very long; so long that they could barely make out what was at the end of it. Not wasting anytime, they hurried across the bridge. At one point, Yoshi looked over the edge to see nothing but pure blackness. The dinosaur whimpered nervously and hurried to catch up with his friends.

After a few minutes of running, the building at the end of the bridge started to come into view. When they got close enough, they stopped upon seeing what the building was. Their jaws dropped in astonishment at what they saw. It was a giant castle floating on a huge island. The castle had a dark yellow coating. The roofs of the castle were spiny and had a lime green color. In fact, there were many green spikes that stuck out all around the castle.

In the middle of the castle was a gargoyle head that had two spikes sticking out of the top. The castle's design was completely disoriented. Parts of the building looked sideways; it didn't feel like one complete unit. Already the castle was giving the group a bad feeling. Luigi's knees were starting to wobble.

"Spooky old castles," Luigi shivered nervously. "Those are a few of my least favorite things. M-maybe I'll wait out here for you guys."

"But you said you were fine coming here," Sora said.

"That's before discovering that our destination is a spooky old castle," Luigi said. "And I'm allergic to anything that has 'spooky' in the same. Or in this case, just looks spooky."

Sora slapped his forehead. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Master Luigi, we require your assistance," Toadsworth said. He looked up at the sky. "Besides, it looks like it's about to rain."

Luigi looked up as well. "The sky is still pitch black. How can you tell that it's going to…"

Suddenly, heavy raindrops started soaking the group. Luigi looked back down; his shoulders were slumped over.

"…rain." He perked up. "Well, a little rain never hurt anyone, right?"

Sora put his hood up and groaned. He was growing tired of Luigi's excuses; they were holding him back from seeing if Riku was really in the castle.

"Yoshi, Toadsworth, let's go," Sora said. "I'm not sticking around just because Luigi's afraid of everything."

Luigi glared at Sora with a slightly offended look. "Hey, I'm not afraid of EVERYTHING!"

The powerful roar of thunder exploded in their ears, causing Luigi to scream in fear, and jump right into Sora's arms. Luigi looked at the keyblade master, who glanced back at him with a frown.

Luigi grinned sheepishly. "Okay. So I'm afraid of everything. Guess I have no choice, huh?"

Sora nodded. Luigi hopped down and mumbled as Yoshi gently pushed him to the door.

"C'mon," Yoshi said encouragingly. "It be okay."

Sora walked up to the huge double door and wrapped his hands around the cold metal handles. The keyblade master took a deep breath; he knew that once they step through, there was no turning back. Sora was ready for anything. As long as he had the keyblade and his friends, he would never be afraid of any challenge that came his way. Sora slowly opened the door that lead to their next adventure – a journey through a castle of fading memories.

**Chain of Memories: The Nintendo Version**

* * *

A/N: This prologue is dedicated to Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary in the United States; and to all of the passionate and loyal fans. You guys rock! Now I have to actually finish this story. Unfortunately, I don't have an estimate as to when it will be finished. Aside from school (my schedule is not bad this semester), I'm actually writing a rough outline of KH2:TNV, and I can't stop! Don't worry; I will get this finished asap. I'm still committed to seeing this through till the end; that I can guarantee! I'll keep you guys updated on what's going on. Keep checking my profile page.

Thanks again for all your support.


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